The Wanderer of the Inquisition
by TheAlphaTitan
Summary: Finally finished his journey, the Lone Wanderer finds himself able to rest in piece; only, there's no rest for the wicked when the Breach of Thedas opens up at the Temple of Sacred Ashes and drops him with a young female elf with a glowing mark on her right hand.(First chapter redone.)
1. Prologue

Author's Note:

This chapter has been modified from the original posting due to heavy reconsideration. The first draft had heavy influence from the ending of the game Mass Effect 3, which didn't serve well for a Fallout-DA:I fic. This has been changed so that it takes the LW from the Fallout-version in comparison. The result is a much shorter prologue chapter which, to me, isn't exactly a good thing. I prefer length in my stories, which will be shown in later chapters.

The alternative/ original version may be posted at a later date for those interested.

* * *

Prologue

Time: 21:34/ Date: 2292 C.E./ Location: The Great Jungle, Africa, Earth

The tent was stifling, the temperature, even at night, a suffocating heat that compounded with the humidity to almost suffocate those in attendance at the war conference. In attendance stood many of the greatest combatants and leaders of the New World, ranging from the Ulysses - a man constantly shadowed by a number of medically inclined eyebots - to the famous Sarah Lyons of 'The Capitol.'

"We're almost finished, Mr. Walker." The smooth voice of Robert House said with a measured calm; his voice projected from a synthetic man procured from the Commonwealth - the form an android without an AI and the perfect mobile platform for House to experience the world away from New Vegas. "Not much more until the entirety of the planet is under the umbrella of the Coalition. All we need is to finish this infuriating country, and you will be welcomed back to New Vegas and to your loving wife. She's due to deliver your third child in the coming weeks, so let's hurry this up so you can be on the next airship home.

Cain Walker - the Lone Wanderer to those who knew him only by legend - shook his head, his appearance had largely remained as it had from when he had first left Vault 101 all those years ago; he never aged, a presumed side-effect of his experiments for Moira Brown, and so he kept his dirty-blonde locks and his piercing sky-blue eyes, the major differences that set him apart from fading into a crowd of young adults remain his prosthetic right arm, his custom designed power armor - dubbed C, and his overbearing height at an imposing 6'9 that made his lean musculature seem all the more predatory. "I know this, House. As much as I'd rather be home, I'm here, on the front lines, fighting in skirmishes against the warlords and tribals. If you had any sense as a military leader, I'd allow you to take over; though we both know it's best for me to be here." He growled out, his mood sour with the reminder.

He turned to gaze down at a map spread across the table in the middle of the room, several circles marked the locations of large facilities owned by the wrlords of the area and the numerous, hostile, tribes.

"What's the status of our advance troops?" He asked aloud. "Have they finished setting up?"

"They're in position, just waiting on your orders to begin. When they get the go, they'll go loud and prove a distraction while the rest of our forces come in; with luck, they'll know to target the heavy troopers first." A man to the side answered, standard T-51B power armor covered his form. "After they drop the hammer, our Vertibirds will allow for us to rapidly deploy our heavy hitters so we may strike while they are disoriented. Strike hard, strike fast."

"Good, make sure our power armor troops are loaded with atleast one Tesla Cannon and one Missile Launcher. No mercy to anyone who shows resistance, but make sure no one who surrenders or is a civilian is hurt. Any purposeful acts against non-combatants will not go unpunished."

The man nodded before doing a quick salute and leaving the tent.

"Alright, let's get moving. Ulysses, you're to go to our friends in Texas and oversee the training of our next batch of troops. They should be nearly done so you'll be the one to judge whether or not they're satisfactory; take Boone with you, he's due to head back anyway to see Cass in New Vegas anyway."

"By your orders, Wanderer." The deep voice of Ulysses rumbled from behind his gasmask before he too left the tent.

"Fighters, to your Vertibirds. Don't let me down. Charon, stay behind." Cain ordered, the others did a quick salute before only himself and the old Ghoul Charon remained.

"Yes, Boss?" He asked, his voice sill the same gruff, scratchy voice it had been when they had first met back in 2277.

Cain smiled for a moment, memories rushing through his mind of when the two were both several decades younger.

"Even with time, neither of us has changed much, right?" He asked after a moment to receive a hesitant nod. "We look the same, mostly anyway, but our experiences have changed us in ways unseen to the untrained eye. Even Boone, not taking into account his ghoulification, is the same. We've changed, all of us. Hardened from the countless battles, only Boone has gone through something similar from when he was younger, and we also have learned much. Hopefully, after we're done here...we can get some time to relax. No fighting, no wars."

"Doubtful, Boss." Charon chuckled merthlessly. "You should know yourself by now, unless you're in the middle of the action, you'll never be content. We both know you could be back in New Vegas with your wife and kids, giving us orders from the comfort of your own home."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Cain acknowledged after a moment, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Let's go." He started at a jog towards a nearby Vertibird, the large Supermutant, Fawkes, sat waiting inside, clad in a larger version of Cain's own power armor, as did a small, lithe robotic figure by the name of Alpha; it wore no clothes but had numerous bandoliers of spare magazines for its weapon. In the mutant's hand sat his trademark Gatling Laser, heavily modded throughout the years by both the large being himself and the Wanderer; and in Alpha's arms sat a long sniper rifle that appeared to be longer than it was tall - a likely feat when it had only been designed at a height of 5'2.

A nod of greeting was all that passed between the three as Charon boarded.

"Where's Omega at?" Cain asked the smaller automaton after a moment.

"Not far, Omega is at the back." The small robot motioned back, pointing out a monstrous crate; Cain simply nodded in response.

"Here, we go! Next stop, the head hancho's stronghold!" The pilot shouted back over the sounds of the spinning blades of the vehicle.

The Vertibird took off a moment later, it started slow before shooting off up and away from the small base; it only took a few moments before klaxon sirens blared through the small ship, deafeningly loud.

"We've been locked onto! Performing evasive manuvers!" The pilot shouted, the passengers in the back quickly secured themselves to their seats and prepared for the worst as the pilot rocked them back and forth, turning and diving in an attempt to dodge whatever unseen threat pursued them. "What the hell are these things! Mayday, mayday, this is Vertibird Charlie-Sierra-216, I are currently being engaged by unknown flyers in route to designation Bravo-14 in Quadrant-9 from Command Base-Alpha! I request immediate assistance!" The pilot cried out into the radio in the front.

Cain shook his head as he reached down beneath his seat and withdrew his helmet, the other two did the same as they prepared for the inevitable; the small robot moved to the back of the ship, grasping at webbing along the floor of the Vertibird, before slipping inside the crate it had motioned to earlier.

"I can't shake them!" He cried back before, with a loud explosion and a highpitched scream of...something flying past, the world went black for Cain.

* * *

Time: Unknown/ Date: Unknown/ Location: Unknown

"Back away from the Breach!" A hoarse, male voice ordered, the owner waved his right arm back with urgency as he commanded the nearby soldiers, all clad in heavy platemetal armor. "Fall back!"

"There's someone in there!" Another man called out, the first turned his head back to look into the large tear between the real world and the Fade.

Faintly a heavily armored creature, too tall to be a simple man yet possibly a hornless-Qunari, could be seen falling through the air before he pierced the Rift and fell to the ground below. A few seconds later, an unarmored, smaller figure, clearly a female elf, fell beside him with a thud; a bright green mark glowed on her hand, seemingly reacting with the Breach. An impossibly large, golden woman stood on just the other side and glanced down to the figures below. She almost seemed…sad before vanishing from sight, the Rift itself then seemed to shudder and partially collapse on itself before the gathered individuals figured it safe and moved in, cautiously, to carry the unknowns away.

"Strip him of his armor and cuff them, the Seeker will have some questions."

* * *

Author's Note:

Here's a new fic for those interested; it's a crossover between Fallout and Dragon Age: Inquisition with ties to the Fallout-Metro fic I have also started.

This fic will largely follow the events of DA:I, yet from the view point of the Lone Wanderer as a companion/ advisor to the Inquisitor. And, for those that caught the date at the beginning of the chapter, this does have the LW at - roughly - the age of 34; yet, for those that also caught the mention of Moira Brown's experiments, he has kept a younger body at roughly the age of 19 - 20. The reasoning is a modified version of Ghoulification, which is backed up by the ability that LW obtains after aiding her with the severe radiation poisoning portion of the Wasteland Survival Guide where he/ she now has crippled limbs repaired when exposed to high levels of radiation.

This will be updated on an irregular basis, just check out my Halo-Destiny fic and you'll understand that. Updates could be done weekly or monthly, possibly even spaced out more, but it will be updated.

Comment, favorite, follow, do whatcha want. And, following the example of my Halo-Destiny fic, feel free to submit DA:I-focused OCs that may – or may not – be put into the story.


	2. Chapter 1

_Author's Note Addendum:_

 _While I'm working on the next chapter to come, Chapter Three, I actually decided to go back and revise this chapter here a bit. Nothing much has changed, save for a line where Cain had been assessing his objectives and I'd mistakenly had one being for him to find his Power Armor despite already having it, that was something left in from an alternative version of this chapter where Cain didn't have his armor and the plan was to have him regain it at a critical part in the story._

 _Beyond that little change, I did add some more lines of thought for Cain, as this chapter is from his point of view and I had very little actual thought dialogue in the chapter, and I've inserted some lines that state that Cain is actually confused as to his location, the presence of Magick, and the Breach/ Rift. Just little tidbits that I was going to focus on later, as you normally don't stop and ponder the strange scenario you may be in when in the midst of the action. Buuuuut, I've taken things a whole new direction and my plans have gone out the window for that._

 _On a side note, this chapter did grow by another 800 words(this author's note included) from the new bits I've added._

* * *

Chapter One

Accusation and Confrontation

Cain awoke with a grumble and a silent complaint of a migraine, though he quickly realized that something was incredibly wrong besides his headache - his wrists were bound and he found himself laying on ground.

Reminiscent of the stories he'd been told by his wife on how her adventures of the Courier began.

No shallow grave, starlight, and he still had his armor though.

'What happened?' He thought to himself as he tried to piece together his memories. 'I was...staging a raid on a compound in central Africa... Got into a Vertibird...' He shook his head as he moved to rest on his knees. '...Why can't I remember?'

Cain's vision blurred for a moment before he shook his head and brought a hand, still clad in his Power Armor, up against his helmet. What could have happened? He was still in his armor, and his wrists were bound. Too hard to remove? Though, only someone who knew the piece of technology and the correct methods of removing it would have been able to.

Shouts of alarm sounded around him which caused him to stop and glance from one side to the next.

Two men, both in armor that fit more accurately to what he'd seen in Old World books of the ancient knights of Europe, had moved from behind him to place slender blades to either side of his neck. The message was clear. If he moved, he would die. He doubted that they'd be able to pierce his armor with the blades, but he'd play along for now.

"Where am I? What have you done with my companions?" The Wanderer asked, his voice was strained from apparent lack of use and dehydration. Strange.

"The elf is in another holding cell. Don't worry, you'll be reunited when the time for your execution has come." A voice answered as the door before him opened to reveal a woman with short-cut, black hair and armor akin to the two men at his sides.

'Elf?' Cain thought to himself with no little amount of confusion. "Execution? For what crime?" He demanded an answer and strained at his bindings, a show. The bindings were metal chain, a tad excessive for a prisoner, though he conceded that he'd done the same before.

"For the destruction of the Temple of Sacred Ashes, the murder of the assembled members of the Conclave, and the assassination of Divine Justina." The woman said with a biting, hostile tone. "When found guilty, you and your accomplice with be executed."

"What accomplice? What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, he strained at his restraints, somewhat surprised at the ease in which the metal started to give before he stopped. Shoddy work, another, serious, attempt and he'd be able to break free. "Where am I? Where are my companions? I haven't done anything." He pressed, glaring up at the woman.

The two argued back and forth, several times throughout it appeared as though the woman would try and take justice into her own hands and try to cut him down where he knelt; likewise, there were several time that Cain felt the desire to simply end this and neutralize the threats around him ; kill them all, escape, and try to get in contact with the Coalition's forces. Several topics came up, the explosion of the 'temple' that he was being accused of, to his name and other mundane subjects; though Cain refused to give an inch throughout the questioning and simply continued to ask his questions and profess his innocence.

"I doubt he's going to tell you anything. Perhaps he's undergone some training against standard interrogation, or maybe he's telling the truth." A second woman came from behind the first, her clothing a vast difference in comparison to the former's; she wore a baggy, hooded gunmetal gray cloak about her upper half, her lower half was clad in tight leggings. "Let's go, the Seeker is speaking with the Elf. Maybe she'll get some answers from her."

Again, that word.

Elf.

Some mutation of a human akin to mythological elves?

It didn't matter, a silent moment later and the women left along with his two guards, the sight of the first woman leaving gave him the sight of a winged lion on her shield; the same, he realized a moment later, had been on her breastplate.

Now, he found himself alone with his thoughts and, conviently, he found more of his memories coming back to him.

He, and his companions, had been in the Vertibird before it was attacked. "Unknown flyers." That's what the pilot had called the hostiles.

Not enemy aircraft.

Not mutated wildlife.

"Unknown flyers."

So, airborne unknowns that apparently could shoot down military Vertibirds specially designed to withstand enemy attacks from anything between small arms and missile launchers, maybe with some damage to the aircraft but nothing too severe.

Their ship, though, had been put out of commission with a single shot.

What happened after, though? Why couldn't he remember?

Cain felt no injuries about him; beyond the migraine, which had faded by now, he'd felt completely normal. His armor would have protected him anyway, at least from most of the damage, but he couldn't check the condition of it with his hands bound..

He had to leave this place and see about getting in contact with his forces.

A general should not be out of reach from his subordinates.

"Here. We. Go." The Wanderer grunted to himself, pausing between each word, before he rocked back onto the base of his feet and shot up to a standing position silently. A moment later he pulled at his restraints, a test pull, and found them almost eager to break.

"This is almost pitiful." He murmured to himself as he brought his hands together, used his left to clasp the chain length between the two wrists, and then took a deep breath, a moment later he pulled back his right arm hard, the iron of the chain held for a moment then snapped.

"Ta-daa. For my next trick, I'll be contacting House and leaving this place." Cain said to no one. He slid over to stand beside the door to his cell, a wooden-iron combination that would undoubtably be difficult for anyone with less...advantages to break, save for maybe a supermutatant.

His Pip-Boy came to life as the, physically, young man began to gaze around it.

'No signal.' The message was far from welcome.

He pressed a button along the side, causing a message to appear on the screen as it searched for any Vault-Tech satellite signals in the area.

'No signal. World Map unavailable. Advise contacting the Vault-Tech customer service line at...' Some number came across the screen afterwards, but he ignored it.

"Okay, that doesn't matter. The area is likely just absent of Vault-Tech satellites, they could have fallen in the last 200+ years." He murmured to himself before switching menus to the Radio Stations menu, something that was also used for communication between anything that operated on the common frequencies and many uncommon ones.

'No radio or communication frequencies found.'

"Well, ain't that quaint." Cain growled to himself and shook his head. "Going to have to do this the hard way." He momentarily thought on the fact that that meant none of his companions were nearby as well, his own Pip-Boy would have been able to pick up on Charon's or Fawkes' with ease and he had also had similar technology incorporated into Alpha and Omega.

With another flick of a dial he took in his armor's condition. Still in working order with hardly any damage that would compromise function, except for minor damage to the power core that had the system placed in an auxiliary-power state. He wouldn't be able to pull anything amazing, but he'd at least be able to move freely.

He crouched and placed the chain on the floor quietly, seeing no need to draw attention until he was ready to escape.

All of that became pointless when yet another woman threw open the door and entered the room, her armor bore a stylized eye upon her chestplate. "Let's go, time to show you what you and your partner-" She cut off in surprise at his absence from where she'd been told he'd been left, and his sudden appearance next to the door. "...How? Not important. Come on."

The Wanderer stood still for a moment as the woman turned and left, at a bit of a loss for words, before he followed after her; he cared not for hiding his preparations and, in fact, walked out after he with a powerful stride. He wouldn't walk out like a prisoner.

When he exited, he was once more left to stew in his confusion at the sight of a small girl with slighter facial bones and pointed ears, blue facial tattoos wove themselves in intricate designs; with her height of barely 5'4 and an apparent weight of 90 pounds when soaked, he placed her at about 18 years. Unlike himself, she was still cuffed.

"That's the giant?" The young woman said, confusion and surprise in her voice as they looked to one another.

Elves existed... What the hell had he come across? And 'giant'? He was tall, but not that tall. Supermutants were taller than him, and so was Omega. Though, neither was something natural to the world.

"Yes; now, let's go." The woman said tersely, fully commanding the two of them to follow as she rushed to another door much to Cain's amusement and confusion.

Not long before, he'd been heatedly interrogated by the woman, now he was her underling? That would have to be addressed.

As the duo followed, the young...elf and then Cain at the back, he shook his head. This was all too surreal, almost like when he had first come across Werhner and been questioned and then pled with to help. The bastard still got what he deserved for trying to have him kidnap a child for whatever cruel experiments he'd had planned to further the research against the people of The Pitt turning into troglodytes; to some his discission of siding with the raiders and slavers of The Pitt may have been a mistake, but Marie Ashur was a good leader to the free citizens now and the research by her father and mother had gone a long way in preventing mutation for others. The old, former Brotherhood of Steel soldier had kept his word until it was time for him to pass.

The Wanderer shook his head, bringing his thoughts once more to the situation at hand.

As they exited the building, he found himself in awe at the surrounding area.

'Okay, definitely not in the Wastes anymore. Where am I?' He blinked rapidly and shook his head, maybe he was just hallucinating? 'No, still here.'

Around him was, perhaps, one of the most magnificient locations he had seen throughout his life, only rivaled by the times he had come across the few forested areas of the world that seemed largely untouched, or recovering, from the devastation of the Old World's bombs - Jacobstown in the Mojave came to mind, as did a number of locations in Canada, the numerous South American countries, and small islands throughout the Earth's oceans.

Yet, even still nothing appeared the same. Nothing appeared even reminiscent to places he'd seen during his travels, though he did concede to himself that even he had not been everywhere and there would obviously be parts of the world they had not gone to. Areas believed too dangerous such as the Amazon Rainforest, the deadly creatures only amplified by the radiation of the nuclear fallout, and those areas thought to be unimportant, largely believed to be uninhabited from Pre-War documents.

Perhaps he'd been teleported to a location such as those, it was definitely possible. His assisting of the Courier in the Big Empty had shown him such things could be done. That would mean that advanced technologies were at play, which he saw no evidence of now.

No technology whatsoever, actually. The chains inside of a hut instead of a holding cell; the obvious combatants in the area were wielding weaponry that hadn't been seen since the middle ages; and the armor, while it'd make Caesar's Legion jealous. Actual armor that appeared as though the ones wearing it may have stolen the protective material from an exhibit.

'Protective, hah.' Cain thought to himself. The suits wouldn't do much to stop anything greater than a Molerat.

Maybe the ship that had attacked his own had managed to teleport him.

What caught his eye as he shook his head once in an attempt clear his thoughts was a large blemish in the scene he'd found himself looking at - a tear in the sky itself.

It...felt like he'd stepped from his home, as hellish as it was, and into the rabbit hole; he'd gone into Wonderland and didn't know how.

The two women had been speaking as he observed the environment, his attention only slightly given to the two as he pulled out seemingly important words from the conversation.

Conclave. Massacre. Hundreds missing, dozens confirmed dead with that number growing steadily. The Divine Justinia assassinated. Explosion.

That didn't sit well with him.

Cain and the young girl were to be scapegoats, it seemed; convinent targets for anger as they had both been found at the site of the 'Breach' in the sky.

Suddenly, to his left, the small...elf stumbled forward and crashed to her knees as her left hand appeared to become engulfed in a green energy; her cry of pain brought him wordlessly to her side even as he himself felt a sharp pain coming from the entirety of his body, a pain that all but cried out for the hole in the sky and the energy that, with a closer look, came from a pale green mark on her hand.

"I'm...okay." The girl said a moment later as she struggled to breath, the pain apparently so great that it sought to strangle her. "Thank you..."

Cain nodded slowly and offered her his hand.

Something was wrong, that hole in the sky caused them both pain.

"The Breach..." The woman who had been guiding them said, her armor clanked loudly as she moved to stand infront of them. She cut the rope bindings for the girl and spared a quick glance at Cain's unbound hands. "Your mark appears to react with the Breach over where the Temple of Sacred Ashes once stood, elf. We need to hurry, there are numerous civilians in the valley and those demons are mercilous."

"I'll help anyway I can." The girl answered, Cain himself nodded silently, in agreement, a moment later.

"Alright, let's go." The woman said, a brief nod of approval followed before she turned and jogged off. Once more, the duo followed, though now he lagged back to jog alongside the girl.

"What's your name?" The girl asked after a moment, her voice low. "Mine's SkyeDa'len, it's a mix of human and elvish, it means Little Sky Child or little child of the sky; most people call me Skye though." She introduced herself and then explained in response to Cain's tilted head at the name. "She's Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, though most know that - she's the Divine's Right Hand, after all - but who are you?" She continued, ending with a question.

"Wanderer, you can call me Cain." He offered after a moment, a smile from the shorter girl came in response.

"The Breach appeared when the Temple exploded and smaller rifts have been appearing throughout the valley ever since. With luck, that mark on your hand can close the breach before things get too far out of hand; but first, we need to try it on something a bit smaller." The woman ahead spoke, her words obviously addressed to the girl.

The two hurried across a small bridge, a barked order from the woman had the two soldiers manning the other gate opening it quickly.

And then, the screams finally reached Cain's ears as they rushed up a path with hurried steps. Soldiers were fighting and dying against something, what that something may be he did not know; the pained screams of the dying, so close to what had been thought safety.

It was a sound he'd heard countless times before: gutshot soldiers and raiders, men and women being mauled to death by the infected fauna - and sometimes flora - of the Wastes, and many more. This, though, felt surreal. The land, save for the green tear in the sky, seemed too perfect and untouched by conflict. He knew that wasn't true, though; why else would there be so many people armed?

The small woman to his side - Skye, he had to remind himself - appeared completely unfamiliar with the sounds, the screams, though. An innocent, now being forced to be anything but after her capture by 'just' forces. She quaked and shied closer to his side with every new scream, and every scream cut abruptly short.

"Steady yourself, for better or worse the screams will stop in time." He said, a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She jumped in response, seemingly not expecting him say or do anything

"How can you be so calm?" Skye asked, her tone disbelieving and holding no little amount of accusation. "How can you be so indifferent to others' pain?"

"Focus on her talking, the sounds of your steps against the ground, the presence of those nearby who can support you if you're attacked; don't pay the screams any mind." Cain advised, his words brought about by the wisdom of his many years of experience.

He made sense, and gave her a way to keep her mind off of the situation at hand, yet he also avoided her questions.

"...Right." She replied after a moment and the two fell silent. A few moments later, she even appeared to be starting to calm down.

And then, with a bright flash of the mark on her palm, she came crashing to her knees in a loud cry of pain; her right hand grasped her left wrist as her palm, and the mark, pointed in the direction of the tear in the sky. Cain moved to her side quickly, confusion painting his face even as a sharp wave of pain flared throughout his body, she was now one of the people in pain that he had just been blocking out, but he could possibly do something for her.

Or study the phenomena that was the mark.

A physical link from an impossible rip in the fabric of space that extended it physical energy in the palm of a girl and his own body. With what appeared to be raw energy at play here in a physical form, the possibilities were endless.

From where he crouched down at her side, his ears picking up the faint sound of the other woman, Cassandra, coming hurriedly, his eyes moved over the mark on her palm; it appeared to be growing by the second, slowly but still enlarging before his eyes, and it held her in place, her strain was visible in her face as she sought to pull her hand back. The moment lasted for only a few seconds before she collapsed forward, only stopped from hitting the ground by his arms that quickly snagged her mid-fall and pulled her to himself.

Skye was weaker now than before, her breathing shallow and her eyes trapped in a thousand-yard stare that focused in and out. This episode had been more severe than the previous one, enough to leave her in such a dazed state.

"It's growing." The other woman said, in awe and suspicion. "She won't be able to walk, but we can't stay here; you'll have to carry her."

Cain arched an eyebrow before he nodded; they couldn't stay here, if they did then they were likely goners. Whoever, or whatever, the others were fighting would come across them sooner or later if they stayed. And only the Seeker was armed, he didn't fancy fighting without any weapons and armor.

With with effort, he wrapped his arms around Skye's small frame and pulled her to his chest as he stood once more; a moment of shifting his grip on her and he managed to keep her held with his right hand and arm free. If they were attacked, he'd rather his dominant, and cybernetic, hand be free.

"Let's go." Cassandra ordered as he nodded his readiness; after she jogged ahead a few steps, he fell in line behind her with a watchful eye to their surroundings.

'This is surreal.' Cain thought to himself, a thought that had crossed his mind many times before. 'I need to find my companions, then figure out how to get home. Easiest way? Help the natives and use their knowledge to find the others.'

Another gateway came into view quickly as he settled himself into that thought; offer his assistance to the locals, reacquire his armor when the situation is opportune, and then use the natives to find his people.

"We're almost there, hurry!" Cassandra called back to Cain, despite the close proximity, and redoubled her speed. The steady thudding of their feet against the ground was abruptly replaced by the sounds of boots on stone, and then a highpitched whine filled the air. "What the-?"

It wasn't even a second later that a green flash erupted from the bridge farther ahead and sent the stonework of the bridge crashing down and falling beneath their feet.

"Watch out!" The Seeker called, a moment too late, as they all fell with the collapsing bridge, faintly he recogized her distinct armor jumping off to the side; his body acted on pure reflex, his form curved around Skye's form defensively. His armored self would hopefully protect her unarmored one.

As the Wanderer's back hit against the ground, his breath escaped his lungs, his head smacked aginst the back of his helmet, and everything faded to black.

"...ack, I'll handle this." He awoke to the sound of the heavily armored woman's command, his eyes were racing the sky. The back of his head stung, apparently he'd smacked it against his helmet from the fall and lost consciousness.

'So...Not a dream.' Cain thought to himself, his back and head aching from the fall that he recalled. His eyes shifted to the side to spot Skye's back as she stood with a large staff in her hand, the head of it glowed with a fiery blaze, farther ahead Cassandra fought against what looked to be an emanciated man, his skin an ashen grey and clinging to his bones, with a cloth hood over its head and slightly elongated nails that resembled claws. The two seemed to be in intense combat; each time the hooded creature brought its hand down onto the shield of the woman, a loud clang sounded that told of more power than one would expect from such a creature, and everytime she struck, the creature appeared to squirm out of the way at the last moment.

A moment later, a sickly green puddle formed in the space between the two fighting and himself and Skye; a moment later, another of the same creature fighting Cassandra came from the puddle abruptly, its form shot out as though forcibly ejected from the ground itself. It stopped for a moment, seemingly as it gathered its bearings, before turning to face Skye and propelling itself forward with an unexpected speed and a snarl upon its ashen face.

The slender elf visibly shook before she, with an apparently practiced move, slammed the butt of the staff down and a medium-sized ball of red flames shot forth from its head, towards the creature. It splashed against the creature's chest and appeared to stagger it, slowing the creature down for a split second with the stench of burning flesh. A second later, it began to surge forth again before being stopped once more with another ball of flames striking it in the head.

What was he witnessing? Sickly creatures formed from nothing - or perhaps teleported from those puddles? Spontaneous, controlled creation of fire from nothing that then was able to be launched as a weapon?

A brief sense of Deja Vu appeared and vanished as he thought once more.

'I'm in Wonderland, I swear.'

He knew one thing though, there was a hostile. Something tangible to launch himself at.

Suddenly, a few feet to the side of the emanciated creature came yet another, erupting from the ground with a snarl akin to the others'. The new hostile surged forth, only to be stopped by a fresh bolt of fire striking it center mass. Steadily the two enemies moved forward, the blasts coming from Skye's staff only slowing them down instead of actually doing enough damage to be deadly.

 _'Get up, Walker. There's enemies closing in, this isn't the time to be lying down of the job.'_ A female voice whispered through his thoughts, memories of a lifetime ago.

 _'Shut up, Sarah. You and the rest of the Pride have this.'_ A younger, more naive version of him had retorted. It hadn't been much longer afterward, after they had finished their mission, that he'd had to go through a sparring gauntlet against the rest of the Pride as a punishment amongst comrades. He'd lost, horribly, because he was still inexperienced. Never again had he been one to laze around during a confrontation with the enemy; he'd always been ready, even when against the smallest of Raider bands.

Cain flipped over onto his stomach, pushing and pulling until his arms were beneath his battered body as rubble fell from him. With a muffled grunt, he pushed himself up to his feet and stumbled to the side once, his feet unsteady for a brief moment.

His gaze shift over to the two incoming creatures; the first's flesh was smoking, its ashen skin covered in burns as it continued forth unfeeling. The two shades were as determined as ever, possibly even more so than when they started, and they had closed the distance slowly, only a handful of feet away.

The Wanderer glanced about for a weapon, until his gaze fell upon a large hilt for a sword at his right, the first couple of inches barely visible as it disappeared into the rubble. He turned his head back to Skye and the two monstrosities, the creatures had taken the time as he looked elsewhere to close in on the short elf. Nimbly, she dodged swinging, deadly claws; the staff cast aside as she backed away and towards himself.

She slipped, her foot coming down on a slippery piece of ice, and narrowly dodged another swipe. As she hit the ground, the two hostiles loomed over her and brought themselves to attack as once; he himself was apparently left unseen.

And then, he was there. His right hand clasped around the hilt of the sword and he heaved with all the strength of his synthetic arm combined with his armor and lunged forward. The sword flashed from the right, flew barely an inch above the sitting form of Skye, and then cleaved the two shades in twine with the single swipe as though they were Brahmin butter against an old Cosmic Knife.

"Dead." Cain commented before stepping back, pulling the sword back and giving Skye space as he looked over the twin corpses. A second passed by and the two forms appeared to fade from existence from their spot.

A moment later, Cassandra finished her own with a slash that sent the shade's head rolling.

The little...elf, got to her feet a moment later with her staff once more in her hands, her eyes glossed over for a moment before suddenly Cassandra was before them, shouting for them to disarm.

"Okay, okay. We will." Skye said, her voice quivering. Her first kill, apparently, and she sounded to be going into shock. But now wasn't the time for her to collapse, and he would sooner kill this 'Seeker' than disarm.

He moved to step forward but the woman quickly shook her head.

"No, no. This just showed that I wouldn't be able to protect you both by myself, and things are going to get much more intense as we go deeper into the valley." Cassandra said, promptly turning around and beginning to push forward, farther into the valley.

"Not the best person around, is she?" Cain quipped quietly, a hand moved to rest on Skye's shoulder. "Keep yourself together, focus on getting past everything alive. Focus on those people we saw, those that were killed by that explosion before. Focus on fixing all this and push back the panic. Now isn't the time to let yourself break, for both yourself and others." He whispered to her, keeping his voice away from Cassandra.

It probably wasn't the best thing to do, putting so much stress and pressure on such a young person, especially one who'd just had her first brush with death, but now wasn't the time for this.

He had to find his friends, and he had to get in contact with the Coalition. Until then, everything else was secondary. He'd help fight these new enemies, but that was all. Besides, if the Coalition ever needed to come through here, it'd be best for him to have the land well-versed. Deadly flora and fauna, hostile factions, anything of that nature.

The young elf nodded hesitantly before she found out how to take a step forward again, trekking off after the Seeker with Cain a few steps behind her in case he was needed.

The trio came across a few other enemies here and there, mostly Shades with the occasional ghastly 'Wraith', according to Skye - who appeared to be rather knowledgeable about their enemies and where they came from, a location called the Fade. Most times they were dispatched quickly, either by Cassandra's flashing steel or Cain's immense Greatsword which sailed through the air with ease from his cybernetic arm and power armor.

"We're close!" Cassandra called back to the duo as she once again charged ahead, the sounds of combat ahead loud and clear. "They're just over this hill! Hurry! We must help them!" The Seeker rushed ahead up and over the hill, Skye took off at a run behind her to catch up though Cain simply picked up his pace to a light jog and kept in time behind the little elf.

As they crest over the hill, Cain arched an eyebrow in a mixture of surprise and confusion.

A battlefield welcomed them, with a handful of soldiers clad in the same armor as those he had seen before fallen as an elf casting the same magic as Skye had been and what looked to be a crossbow-wielding dwarf fought alone, their enemies were more of the Shades and Wraiths that they'd been fighting along the way. Above them all was a smaller version of the 'Breach' in the sky, tendrils snaked out, green and pulsing, from a hole of nothingness coated in a cloud of the same green essence.

The creatures were everywhere, it seemed.

Were they coming from these smaller tears?

He briefly wondered how far they spread, just the immediate surrounding area of the 'Breach'? Or much farther, maybe?

Cain sped forward, his pace putting him at a blur as he descended the hill, leapt over a small barrier, and brought his blade down on the nearest creature's head - bisecting a Wraith down the middle before it was even aware of his presence.

His next move was a swing at the waist of a Shade that sought to attack the male elf from behind, which left it's top half flying through the air and impacting another; the one hit by its fallen comrade was then quickly put down by the crossbow-wielding dwarf as Skye came down from her perch, the end of her staff was engulfed in flame as she descended.

"We need to close the Rift!"

The male elf hurriedly charged over to her, grasped her by the left wrist, and directed the Mark on her hand to the rippling distortion in the air.

A reaction occurred instantaneously.

The Rift shuddered in the presence of the Mark, shuttering and withdrawing its tendrils as it visibly shrunk in size at its core. A moment later, it was gone, collapsed in on itself and removed from this plane of existence.

"It's a good thing you came along." The male elf said after a moment as he released Skye's wrist and took a step back. "Otherwise I fear we'd have been fighting until all of us lie dead."

Cain stepped back, behind Skye and watched the interaction forming between those gathered as he ran over what had just occurred.

This young woman had just managed to close a rift in space with a tangible link of energy, similar to closing a wormhole with a sustained bolt of lightning.

"I did that?" The younger elf asked in confusion as she appeared transfixed by the fact that her Mark had closed the Rift.

"Yes, that Mark on your hand and the Rift itself appear to be comprised of the same magic, I theorized that it may in fact have been the key to shutting it." The elder elf responded with a nod.

"Solas and Varric." Cassandra interjected, looking from the elf to the dwarf. The one with impartially and the other with a partial mistrust.

"Ah, Seeker. Here to make me your prisoner again? Or has that unjust punishment fallen on these two?" Varric asked, a coy smirk on his lips.

"Varric." She responded, her tone a mix of seething and dismissive. "This is the one who kept that Mark from killing you." She then addressed Skye, motioning to Solas.

"My thanks, Solas." Skye said appreciatively, a sincere smile on her lips. "I'm SkyeDa'Len and this is..." A quick, unseen nudge came from Cain. "Wanderer."

He nodded a moment later in greeting, staying silent.

"Wanderer?" Varric asked, an eyebrow arching in curiosity. "Strange name, that'd be like mine being Writer." He quipped, the Seeker simply shook her head and turned to look after the fallen soldiers.

Maybe she knew some of them, or was looking to see if she did.

"I'm glad that I can be of some help." Skye said, her gaze falling to her glowing hand with an obvious unease.

"Yes, you and that Mark on your hand could very well shut the main Breach as well and fix all this." Solas informed the gather four, and his hand moved to point at the Breach itself.

"Well then, let's go, you two. The longer we wait, the more people that die to these demons." Cassandra said, standing from a crouch over one of the soldiers.

"We're going too." The dwarf began before being interrupted.

"No, you're not. You two are going to leave this area before more of those things come."

"With all due respect, Seeker. You know nothing about these valleys or the things in them. Solas is an expert on the Fade and you could use two more fighters to make sure you make it where you're going."

The Seeker grit her teeth but stayed quiet, seemingly turning the thought around in her head. "Fine, let's get going. We need to hurry and get to the forward base." A moment later she began her trek ahead and Cain stepped in behind her, leaving the others to follow a moment later.

Quickly, they formed a combat formation as they walked.

Cain and Cassandra at the lead as the only two melee-fighters - not to mention the only two without armor, then Solas and Skye, as the distance fighters, and finally Varric with his crossbow.

While an attack from behind was always possible, it wasn't likely enough to demand the two fighters to be spread out; and, Cain thought, the preloaded crossbow - Bianca - would likely allow Varric to react to any attacks faster than either 'mage'.

"You know, I've seen giants before, enormous things that make us all look like specks of sand. You're different, though. Shorter than a giant but too big for a human, but you lack the horns and have more sense than a Qunari - no Qunari would wear that much armor. I'd think Darkspawn, but they're no longer out and I'd heard something of you falling out of the Fade." Varric said, rambling as the group walked. No response came from Cain though, so he soon fell quiet. "How about you...SkyeDa'len, right? Dalish right? The facial markings and how you carry yourself says it all."

"That's right, I'm Dalish." Skye answered, a slight smile forming before fading a moment later.

"I've had a few encounters with the Dalish clans." Solas interjected.

"'Encounters?'"

"Most times they try and attack me."

"Ah...sorry." She bowed her head and brought a hand up to rub at the back of her head sheepishly.

The group fell silent as they came across another large group of creatures from the Fade fighting against a handful of soldiers, another assortment of Shades of varying sizes and Wraiths battled against the soldiers beneath, once again, a large Rift that floated ominously.

"Attack!" Cassandra ordered, charging forth to throw herself into the fray.

'Reckless.' Cain thought, resisting the urge to shake his head as he followed after, brandishing the greatsword in his right hand once more. The large slab of metal, for it was too dull to be considered a blade by him after he'd taken a closer look, tore through the enemies with a startling ease for something so dull.

The enemies, though greater in number, fell quickly against the group of fighters, whether they were felled by steel, bolt, fireball, or blast of lightning until the Rift hovered alone, almost helpless against the power of the Mark that would soon close it.

"Ready?" Solas asked, only to receive a nod in response from Skye as she then stepped forward. Her hand moved to face the pulsing Rift, an immediate reaction came once more; though, this time, it fought back and struggled.

A green rope-like energy came to being, connecting the small elf to the Rift by her Mark as three large creatures, their heights towered over Cain yet they lacked any real muscle mass and looked to have been designed to instill fear or terror in their victims by their appearance, sprang from neon green, glowing circles that instantaneously appeared on the ground. One sprang before the unoccupied two ranged fighters, another amongst the group of surviving soldiers, and the final came for Cain himself.

"Greater Terror Demons!" Solas called out, naming the things that bore down on them now, and the duo backpeddled away quickly. As the creature moved to swipe at the group with one of its long arms, a quickly shot bolt flew into its chest, which caused it to stumble and allowed enough time to pass for Cassandra to engage it.

Cain focused on his own Terror, lunging forward beneath its swing and rolling behind it in his armor. He swung his greatsword from the side, only to miss by a hair as the creature suddenly vanished beneath the surface once more. No hole, nothing to portray its location.

He straightened his stance, his sword held horizontal and his eyes cast down to the ground in preparation.

Then, it appeared. The green circle that surround him with himself at the middle.

The Wanderer doze to the side, diving into a roll, just as the monstrosity broke up through the surface, this time sending rocks and dirt as shrapnel; he swung, and the large hunk of metal cleaved the beast's right arm off before it once again sunk down into its green portal with a pained cry of rage.

Cain waited... And waited.

Nothing.

The others were still fighting their own Greater Terrors, doing fairly well against the enemies through sheer numbers and tactics. The soldiers would move to create a circular prison to surround the beast whenever it broke the surface and would then attack it with haste before it retreated. The other three, though, appeared to be rather adept at hit and run tactics, dodging the creature whenever it breached the surface and then swiftly attacking at the first available opportunity; and, from the visible crossbow bolts, slashes, and electrical burns that painted its body like a mural, they were doing rather well. Only Skye was alone, immobile from the Mark interacting with the Rift in a visible battle of wills.

A thought clicked into formation, and suddenly the Wanderer was dashing to Skye's side.

And none too late, as the Terror sprang from the earth, clawed left arm drawn back in preparation to strike the threat that Skye made for the Rift and then was suddenly lifted off the ground as Cain rammed the point of the weapon, still sharp enough to puncture through its hide, and lifted the monstrosity up as though it weighed nothing, until it floated above him, held still by his weapon running through its torso.

"Oh, no you don't." He growled, just loud enough for himself and the Terror to head. With his next movement, he pushed his weapon farther into the air, and the creature slid farther done, before suddenly jerking his weapon back and down over his head, seeking to nearly bisect the creature as his weapon cut through up and out of its shoulder. The result though, was just the creature being slammed down and crushed against the solid earth, the edge too dull to cut. A moment later, it vanished with its death.

Cain shook his head, his weapon coated in a sickly green blood-like substance, before he discarded it. It wouldn't be of use, not for anything but stabbing and dealing blunt-force trauma and those two things were hardly logical reasons to keep such a bulky weapon. He'd stick to hand-to-hand combat, his own abilities augmented with his armor and cybernetics would be more than enough to deal with most things. And, if need be, he could always improvise or procure a weapon at a later date.

Almost as one, the other two enemies fell by the two groups of combatants, the corpses of the Terrors faded a moment later.

With the demise of the two Terrors, the Rift itself appeared to weaken, the energy that connected itself to Skye faded and, a moment later, the Rift closed.

"Okay...It's closed." Skye breathed out, clearly winded from the experience. She turned to face the others, an exhausted smile painting her expression until she saw the increased fatigue on the faces of Solas, Cassandra, and Varric, whose running to escape being injured during their fight against their Terror Demon had left them worn out. "What happened?"

"What do you mean 'what happened?' While you were closing that thing, we were stuck fighting those Terror Demons. Surely you saw or heard something from it!" Varric exclaimed, seemingly bewildered at her ignorance of what had just happened.

"Wait, what? It only took, what, three seconds? There's no way!" Skye exclaimed, disbelieving yet also doubting in her own perception as she saw the state which her companions were in.

Varric and Solas sported a number of small cuts in their clothes, the numerous close encounters apparently had a few that were almost...too close. Cassandra's was worse, her armor had numerous dents in it from the impacts against her heavy armor and her lack of mobility.

Cain, himself, after taking a casual look down that went unseen by the rest, had a few splashes of the same sickly green blood that had been on the sword he'd discarded.

"Huh, interesting. Whatever energy that was that connected the Rift to her left her in a state of suspended consciousness." Solas mused, speaking aloud. "Maybe it could have to do with the strength of the Rift at the time of contact. The other Rift had been severely weakened, possibly from us killing so many of the spirits that had come from it."

"That's enough, we need to keep moving. The Breach is still open, and the base is on the other side of this gate." The Seeker interrupted, stepping to pass between the group and march up to the gate.

"All follow the Seeker." Varric said, only to the roll his eyes and follow after along with Solas.

Cain paused a moment, his gaze down at the much shorter elf.

It must feel completely bizarre to have any span of time, even if it were only a few minutes, when you thought it had only been a few seconds. He'd have to ask Howard next time he was able, though that would require reuniting with the Coalition first and foremost.

He rest his right hand on Skye's shoulder and gave a soft, comforting squeeze.

She nodded up at him a moment later, a hint of being unsure on her face, but she trailed off after the trio.

Cain's thoughts were a private torrent of confusion and intrigue as the action he'd found himself in reached a temporary lull.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

"Open the gates! The Rift is gone!" Cassandra called out, only to be answered by the creaking of the massive gates swinging open.

* * *

 _Author's Note_

 _Yeah...it's been a while since my last update. A long while, and I don't have much to say besides...Fallout 4._

 _For those loyal Fallout fans, you can see how and why that serves as an excuse for this chapter not being out atleast in the time since that came hit the shelves._

 _And, in the last two weeks, I have completely and utterly fallen in love with Dark Souls 2. It's possibly one of the hardest games I've played in a LONG time, but also one of the games I've had the most fun playing. About seven characters made in two weeks, and I haven't even gotten past the Huntsman's Copse on any of them. Masochistic gaming at its best, hah._

 _Alas, I'm going to cut this Note short and leave you reader's with two questions that you can answer in the Reviews if you'd like._

 _One: Can anyone spot the reference to FO4?_

 _Two: Which route do you want to read for the next chapter? The full-blown assault or the mountain pass?_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Onwards, to the Breach

The five stepped through the gates with Cassandra at the front, a destination set for her from the start.

All around them, crowding the bridge, worked soldiers and works as they sought to make the area on adequate staging ground. Many appeared disheveled, some wounded and bound in bandages. None would likely do well in a battle with them at this state.

At least now, with the group having all but cleared the way behind, they could only be attacked from the way that the group needed to go.

In the direction the Seeker took, stood two individuals arched over a table and map intently. One, whom stood to the left with a hood draped over their head, gazed up and spotted the group. A moment later, the hood was pulled back slightly to expose a woman's face split with a smile of receiving a pleasant surprise and framed in red hair.

"Seeker, you're alive. It's good to see that you're okay." The woman said, the smile extending to her tone.

"And you too, Leliana." Cassandra replied, only for the other individual, a small man, by Leliana to take note of her presence, and the presence of the others.

"Seeker, I demand you disarm and recapture these prisoners!" The man barked, seemingly inflamed by the presence of Cain and Skye.

"Are you trying to give me an order, desk clerk?" Asked Cassandra rhetorically. "I take orders from the Divine alone, not from you."

"There is no Divine! With the death of Justinia, you take your orders from the Chantry!" The man exclaimed, seemingly more and more infuriated with each passing moment.

"No, until a new Divine is chosen, I take no orders from you. Now, shut up while we figure things out, or you can make yourself useful and fight these demons." She responded, effectively silencing him and allowing the rest some respite from the man.

Cain, simply smirked beneath his helmet, his arms crossed as he listened and watched the scene unfold before him.

Sometimes, it's best to simply watch and listen than to take charge.

"Our remaining forces have been gathered, Cassandra, and now we just wait for your order. The Breach is ahead, and the men are wanting to charge the demons." Leliana explained, her hands swept across the map before her as she explained, her actions showing the path the soldiers wished to take.

"Alternately there is the mountain pass, which likely may be much less dangerous for taking the woman with the Mark to the Breach. While the main forces make their charge, you and the rest traverse that path." She mentioned after a moment. "A patrol was sent earlier, though we haven't heard back in quite some time; we don't know what you may come across up there."

"Either we go with the bulk of the soldiers, or we use the mountain pass to skirt around the majority of the fighting and possibly fight something without back-up." Cassandra mused as she looked over the map, her hand reached down to trace the two paths. "What do you say, elf?" She asked abruptly, turning to look at Skye.

"M-me?" The shorter woman asked with a stunned stutter, surprised at being asked her input.

"Yes, you. You're the one who needs to reach the Breach and close it or everything will be for naught." The Seeker replied, her eyes never leaving Skye.

"I..." She paused, her focus turned to the map.

'What will she choose?' Cain thought to himself, a smirk of entertainment on his lips. 'This, her first decision, will decide it all. Do I help her from here, or leave her to her comrades and find my own?'

The Dalish elf turned her head to look at him suddenly, her eyes unsure as they wandered over his helmet, unable to see his face. She was looking for an answer, though it was one she wouldn't get from him.

Her eyes remained on him for a moment or two more before she nodded, her expression changed to one of resolve as she came about her own answer, and she turned back to the Seeker.

"I say we take the frontal assault. It may be more dangerous, but I will not use the men and women as a distraction. Let them fight with us, not for us." She decided, her voice authoritative and resolute.

The Wanderer smiled beneath his helmet, pleased by her decision.

"Okay." Cassandra began, a pleased smile of her own on her face. "We'll charge with the troops after we gather the some of the fighters here; we'll need to leave a rear guard to hold the bridge in case we need to retreat, but there are more than enough here for us to recruit."

"What about the scouts in the mountains?" Varric asked, motioning to the distant mountains.

"They're likely dead, it's been hours since we last received a runner from them." Leliana answer somberly. "Two of our last runners were dispatched when we stopped receiving word from them and haven't come back, our last was to go to Cullen and tell him to attack if you all hadn't shown up when you did."

Skye shift from one foot to the other, already Cain could see her nerves failing.

A squad of scouts, left for dead from this decision. That wouldn't sit well with Skye.

'Guilt, that cannot be left to fester.' He thought after a moment.

The sharp sound of his metallic boot striking rock erupted suddenly as he brought his right foot down and then lightly kicked the rocky bridge with the tip.

As one the others turned to face him, all wondering why the man who had been silent until now had deliberately made such a noise.

His answer, only to turn his head and look at Skye.

"You'll go that route?" She asked after a moment, a mixture of partially contained hope and confusion in her tone.

The Wanderer nodded, his hand rose before him, open and closed once, and then rose two fingers.

"Someone, get him a weapon and the scout! The largest greatsword you can find!" Cassandra called out after a moment, taking a second to understand Cain's silent motions. A second later, after he flashed the number two again, she ordered a second weapon to be brought forward. "Okay, everyone get moving! We leave in ten!" The Seeker then called out, and the group dispersed.

Skye moved closer to Cain, moving to stand before him, her gaze on his helmet.

"I'll be waiting at the Breach." Cain said gruffly.

"Did I make a good decision?" She asked after a moment's hesitation.

"If you had not, I wouldn't be going after the scouts. I'd leave you here." He answered bluntly, receiving a nod from the previously skittish elf. "Stay safe. I know you can handle whatever you come across up there, you showed that earlier, but make sure you use the others for assistance. You're a ranged fighter, stay at the back. Let Cassandra and the soldiers fight at the front."

A short man, slightly taller than Skye but dwarfed by Cain, came running up from the side, nearly buckling under the weight of a massive greatsword, one that Cain theorized he could use to possibly dismember a Behemoth with single chops, and a standard hand-and-a-half sword with a back sheath and a hip sheath for the two weapons.

"You're the giant I'm supposed to take along the path, right? I was supposed to give you these." The man said, grunting in exertion as he raised the equipment in his hands.

Cain grabbed the items quickly and dawned the gear in a quiet rush. The two weapons felt right, comfortable with their weight that faintly registered through his armor. Even the larger-than-average sword on his hip felt natural as it left him partially off-balance.

"Wanderer, I'll see you at the Breach." Skye said hesitantly after a moment. "After this is over, you need should teach me a bit about how to fight like you do." She finished and then walked away.

"We should get going, sir." The young man said after a long moment. "The name's Kylen, by the way."

* * *

The two climbed up the wooden ladders of the scaffolding that covered the mountain, just ahead was the entrance to the mines that tore through the mountains.

A likely location for the scouts to have passed through on their way ahead.

Isolated, no longer used, easy to lose any pursuers if you don't lose yourself.

"We're almost there, just one more ladder." The young man, Kylen, proclaimed as Cain arrived at the top of the latest ladder they had to ascend. "I think I heard something while you were climbing. Sounded like the Fade itself was screaming, though it could have just been this horrid wind."

Cain tilt his head to the side before he turned his gaze to the top of the next ladder.

Kylen moved to begin his ascent, only to be stopped and then pulled back.

"Ah! After you." The scout said sheepishly as Cain took his place.

'If the boy heard something, an ambush may be ahead. I can't lose my guide already.' He mused beneath his helmet as he quickly moved up the ladder, hand over hand. For something that appeared so flimsy, and something that he thought would break under the weight of his armor, the wooden ladder held well.

As Cain cleared the top, he immediately moved into a crouch and crept toward the gaping mouth of the mineshaft even as his companion ascended the ladder slowly.

Immediately after entering the mouth of the cave, he could tell something was different. The wind had died down, completely silent compared to the outside, shadows flickered and danced across the walls, and his chest ached painfully.

Something was near. Maybe not another Rift, but definitely something.

A pained cry, sounding to be something other than human, rang out and echoed in the dim cave.

Silently, he crept forward with hurried steps. His armor, though heavy despite its slim, form-fitting appearance, made no sound as he stealthily came upon a vantage point.

Numerous Shades and Wraiths dotted the area, standing around in a disorganized state, save for two that held aloft a human man for a third that tore into him with its clawed hands.

"We have to do something." The voice of Kylen came from behind him, hushed. He'd managed to sneak up on Cain, something that he arched an eyebrow in surprise to. Not many were able to sneak up on him.

Cain took in the scene a moment longer, turned back to look at the man and then nodded.

'It may be too late to save his life, but he may have information about where the others went.'

When the younger man moved to stand, withdrawing a bow from his back as well as an arrow from his quiver, he was met with a sharp pull back down and a shake of the head.

Cain pointed down to the ground at Kylen's feet, then motioned to himself and ahead, silent in concern that the external speakers of his helmet would have his voice amplified enough to warn the hostiles close by.

"I stay here and provide support." Kylen whispered after a moment. "While you go down and fight." He received a nod in response, followed then by three fingers being raised and pointed at the three Shades that sought to torture the other scout.

"They are my primary targets?" A shake of the head. "After you kill them, then I start?" A nod. "Okay, on your go then, Sir."

Cain leapt over the side of the ledge, coming to land with a dull thump on the other side and a good ten feet lower.

Aside from the three, a good ten other enemies dotted the area which made things all the more difficult. From prior experience in the valley, when these enemies died, they cried out. It didn't matted how they perished, or how quickly, a noise always punctuated their death.

No stealth killing this time, to kill one would ruin his element of surprise.

He withdrew the longsword from his hip and held it in his right hand, his grip loose at the wrist but tight in his hand.

'Kill the three, then defend the wounded man. That's my only available course of action. If I attack the others first, they may kill the man.' The Wanderer thought, his eyes moved around the room as he sought the best method to attack.

No good avenues to attack.

He paused and glanced down at his Pip-Boy. His inventory was empty, as he had checked before. No weapons, no Stims. Nothing. Everything had gone missing along with his companions.

His armor had remained, and it appeared his modifications had as well. And that's what he was looking for now.

With a press of a button, his appearance faded as the light around him bent with a belch of ozone.

* * *

Kylen cursed at himself, cursing the Fade and its denizens.

Things had been going swell.

The Justinia had called a conclave, the war between the Templars and the Apostates would have been over.

But chaos reared its ugly head, the members of the Conclave were either dead, dying, buried under ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes, or scattered to the winds.

Now he was left to guide an armored giant through a Fade-be-damned mine filled with the Fade's denizens that would all love to take the time to rip him apart.

A sound, almost akin to a swamp gas bubble popping, came from below the ledge that the Giant had vanished from, and a slight stench came up before dissipating.

'An enemy?' He thought to himself before he cocked an arrow and peered over the edge carefully, ready to shoot any unknown creature in the face with his arrow if one attacked.

Nothing, even the armored Giant was gone.

'Huh?'

Kylen shook his head, assuming he had imagined the sound and smell. He turned his gaze forward and took aim at one of the large Shades closest to him.

He waited. And waited. And the scout's screams of pain continued.

Soon the Giant would attack the three that were torturing the other scout, and then he could fire.

Suddenly a loud thud came, followed by another creature's cry, one that sounded too alien for it to be the scout, and his attention broke to look at the trio near the scout.

Two of the three had been neatly bisected, one from its collar bone to the hip and the other at the waist, while the third had simply been impaled through the chest on some invisible object and was being held aloft.

A second later, the Giant's form appeared to come into existence in the midst of the scene, the massive greatsword appeared to be covered in blood and hovered in the air past the two bisected creatures; the longsword, held in its left hand, materialized in the other creature's torso and revealed to be what was keeping it held in the air. With a flick of the wrist, it sent the monstrosity off the sword and onto the ground several feet away with ease.

As one, the others in the area snapped into loud, echoing growls and howls of rage at the creature that interrupted their peace.

Kylen shook his head to clear his thoughts as the roars assaulted his ears.

How the Giant had done such a thing, he did not know - possibly it used magick in cooperation with the massive strength it showcased. But now was not the time to focus on that, now was the time to give it the support it needed to save the scout.

He loosed his arrow into the head of the Shade he'd taken aim at. One arrow and it was down, taken completely unawares as it had focused its attention on the Giant.

Another three fell the same way, even as the Giant cleaved several in great, impossibly fast swings of the two swords. And then, it was over. It was baffling how fast the engagement had passed, as the two had been outnumbered almost seven to one, but in the time that he had taken down his four, the Giant had taken out the other six with the initial three.

A pained grunt came from the other scout as he tried to sit up, against the wall that the Shades had held him against.

Kylen hurried down from his perch and over to the human scout, his revulsion suppressed even as he witness the intestines of the man partially spilled out, shredded by the Shade's clawed hands.

"We got you, we got you." He said hurriedly as he slid down to the man's side.

"Help...came?" The man gasped out, his breathes haggard and strained.

He wouldn't last long, it was too late for them to save the man, his lung was likely punctured.

"Of course, we wouldn't leave you behind. We're going to get you off this mountain and patched up." The Elf forced out a comforting smile only to receive a scoff in response.

"I know I'm dying...don't lie to me. I'm just...surprised. I didn't expect...help to actually come." The man chuckled grimly, only for the chuckles to turn to violent, bloody coughs.

Kylen grimaced, wincing at the straight-forwardness that the man presented about his coming death. "Where's the rest of your unit? Are you the only one left?"

"They're ahead, I stayed behind to try and lose the creatures in the mines but they caught me first." He paused and cough violently once more. "I wasn't expecting them to come from the ground."

"Thank you, we need to go now though. We need to make sure they're still alive." Kylen said hurriedly, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"Of course..." The man breathed, his words slowed now. "If I may make a request...make sure my death isn't in vain. Save the others. They went..." He paused and motioned towards one of the tunnels to his left. "...that way. They were heading to the surface, out where there was more room to move. I think some of the creatures went after them. Please hurry."

"We will." The scout replied, inching back to stand. An armored hand came down to rest on the injured man's shoulder and grip softly; it was the Giant's hand and, even though no words were said, it was clear that it was a sympathetic and comforting gesture. One that the man understood, it seemed, as he the smiled and closed his eyes with a barely audible 'thank you.'

As soon as the man closed it eyes, the Giant turned and began walking in the direction the man had motioned.

Nothing said, no words of farewell or promises to save the man's comrades. Nothing of the sort.

Kylen shook his head, maneuvered to his feet fully, and then ran after the armored Giant.

* * *

"From the maps, the best path is this way." The small elf jogged off to the right after several minutes of silence between the two, though Cain arched an eyebrow in confusion at the mention of maps.

At no point during their expedition from the operating base hours prior had the scout used a map, which gave him a few points in the Wanderer's eyes if he had memorized the maps prior to their leaving.

The ability to accurately recall maps he'd seen without needing to check his Pip-Boy was one that he'd wished he had several times throughout his adventures, but he didn't have the memory capabilities for it.

Inventions, the layout of locks and the circuitry of terminals, sprawling settlement streets and alleyways, those he could remember as he experienced them. But, just looking at a piece of paper or holotape for a few minutes or hours never allowed him to retain the information. Numerous times, he had fallen off the beaten path that led him to dangerous circumstances.

Charon and Jericho had, many times in the several years, told him that he was one of the worst map readers they had ever met.

Well, Jericho had in plain language whereas Charon gave off the thought in his other words and expressions.

Cain followed Kylen at a fast walk, his longer strides allowed him to move as fast as the elf's jog with ease.

Suddenly, the sound of fighting erupted from farther ahead in the form of the sound of clashing steel, battle cries both inhuman and bestial, and pain shouts.

His pace picked up, quickly leaving Kylen behind as his right hand flew to the large greatsword.

He burst from the caves and into the sunlight, the fighting now out before him as the creatures of the Fade, as he'd heard the creatures he found now as his enemies be addressed both at the camp and by Kylen on their initial ascent up the mountains, fought against both humans and elves in overwhelming numbers within what had to be a hundred square feet of empty space. Atleast three of the former for each one of the six scouts that formed the scouting party; yet it appeared that the fight was at a standstill as the scouts held higher ground and managed to keep the others at bay.

Above the battle, the green tear in the air that constituted a Rift hovered ominously and pulsed in time with an aching in his chest.

The Wanderer leapt from the exit, down to the snow-covered battlefield and quickly crossed the expanse to come up behind the creatures. With a heavy, two-handed horizontal slice, he bisected two of the numerous wraiths and cut a gaping wound into a Shade just out of reach. The death rattles of the three creatures brought the attention of the others onto him, and off the six scouts.

His head tilt and his eyes wandered from one to the next, the fighting stopped at his sudden intrusion.

Silence reigned, and everyone but him appeared too tensed to even breathe as they all tried to determine if he was on their side, or if he was against them.

Suddenly an arrow flew over his shoulder, likely from Kylen, and sunk itself into the shrouded forehead of one of the nearest Shades.

"Scouts! Reinforcements!" Kylen called out, and the other six reacted a moment later to jump back into the fray.

Cain whipped his sword into the air as the Fade creatures began to move, shift it into a one-handed grip with his artificial right hand, and swept it forward, into the Fade creatures in a lethal swoop that left numerous in half before the blade stuck midway into a large Shade.

'These...Wraiths. It feels like I'm just cutting air.' He thought to himself as he swung again in an overhand strike against one of the Wraiths, his blade stuck into the ground as he met little resistance from cutting the creature vertically in half.

'And these 'Shades' are little better.' He drew back, stabbed clean through the creature, and then withdrew in a spinning arch to leave another dead. One, coming from behind him as he recovered from the slash, met an arrow to the chest from one of the Scouts, and then a punch that went through its chest cleanly due to his Power Armor-enhanced strength.

The group of enemies quickly whittled to nothing, taken by surprise and then vastly outmatched.

"Reinforcements? We figured we'd been left for dead, or that the Breach would be too important for a rescue party." One of the scouts said, an older man.

Another scout, a female elf with a bow, lightly tapped his back with the back of his hand with a chuckle right after. "Told ya we'd be saved."

"We'd sent a few runners up, to try and find out why we'd stopped receiving word on your progress, but none came back. The Giant here volunteered to see what was going on and I came with as the last individual scout." Kylen explained, causing a concealed eyebrow raise from Cain.

'The Giant?' He thought to himself even as the others talked. 'Well, I was always tall, and everyone here does appear to be average in height. Still, I wouldn't think 6'8 would be considered giant.' He scoffed quietly and turned to look up at the Rift.

The proximity to the thing made the pain in his chest resonate to the rest of his body, every cell in his body seemed to ache as though he'd gone through his expedition into The Pitt again.

"We should get going, the assault on the Breach should still be underway." Kylen said suddenly, drawing Cain's attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Yes, we should. We'll need to hurry, we can have someone come back for our friend's body when we get back to the rest of our forces." The elder Scout agreed, only to the bring his hand up and whistle sharply between his thumb and middle finger. "Let's get moving! It should take us an hour to get there, let's make it back in half that!" He called to the rest of his scouts, and then took a look in his direction. "Try not to lag behind with those swords of yours, Giant."

The group took a moment to gather together before they started ahead, moving at a jog down the mountain the opposite direction he and Kylen had come.

The Wanderer paused, his eyes up at the large 'Rift' above him. It remained, pulsating slowly with an ominous glow.

'Maybe...' He paused for a moment, rose his left, still organic, hand, and focused on what he'd seen occur when Skye had done the same thing a mere few hours prior.

The pain in his chest intensified, every cell on fire, as he closed his eyes and pictured the same green line of electricity extending from his hand to the Rift. The burn intensified as he held the image in his mind, until it felt all encompassing. And then, the image changed. Suddenly, the Rift was in his hand, pulsating and writhing as though it lived.

'Close.' He thought, and clenched his hand. The burning intensified, growing hotter and hotter for several more moments before ceasing completely. Even the pain in his chest had lessened to what it had been when he'd first woken.

Cain opened his eyes, and gazed at the spot in the air that the Rift had been moments ago.

Gone.

'That was...unpleasant.' He thought to himself, and then glanced down at his armored fist. 'Though, that means that, if this group should turn to be one that I find that I must leave, or destroy, I can still make this place safer for any future expeditions I send my soldiers on.' He shook his hand, pausing his thoughts. 'Though, let's not do that for awhile, shall we? The burning wasn't something I'd like to experience again. It felt like I was going to burn a whole into the snow.'

His gaze turned down to the ground at his feet and he paused all action, even his breathing. At his feet, directly below where the Rift had been, was a large scorch mark on the ground where a large Bowie knife rest, the tip plunged into the ground and the Greek 'Omega' etched onto the base of the hilt.

"From where...?" He paused to say to himself in disbelief before his gaze lift back up to the spot the Rift had been mere moments ago.

Cain glanced back down and grabbed the blade by the hilt, then drew it from the ground with ease. Flawless, save for a little dirt.

He glanced around once, as though maybe someone had placed the knife in the ground and he could spot them, yet found no one; he then reached down and attached the knife to the sheath that held his hand-and-a-half sword. It would do, for now, until he acquired a sheath for it alone.

A moment later, he took off after the scouts at a swift jog.

* * *

"They'll be here any moment, we just have to wait a little longer." Skye could be heard arguing as the scouts came up on the designated meeting point, just outside the Temple of Sacred Ashes.

The audio sensors of his Power Armor amplified the soft voices of the rest of the group well before the scouts that walked behind him could. It threw him off, even now, that they all walked with such softness that he could barely hear them, and he'd always been considered incredibly perceptive.

"Maybe whatever got the runners got them too, maybe a Rift or two opened up in the mountains. Reports have been coming in from everywhere with rumors of green tears in the sky and monsters slaughtering everything that moves. Some sound to be much larger and fiercer than these Shades and Wraiths." Cassandra offered, only to then be met by a chuckle.

"We both know nothing could stop that giant, Seeker. In the time it took for the rest of us to kill a small number of the demons, he'd tear through scores on his own!" Varric exclaimed with a laugh.

"We don't know what kind of creatures could be created by this disaster, it's possible that he came across something that could stop even him." The calmer voice of Solas attempted to reason.

"Exactly why I'd rather wait a while longer to see if he shows up, because WE may come across something the could stop even him in there and we could use his help." Varric pressed, an exasperated sigh escaped his lips. "My vote is that we wait here a while longer."

"Wanderer will be here, I know it." Skye said a moment later.

"Well, you're right. If by the Wanderer, you mean ol' Giant here." Kylen suddenly said as the group came upon the clearing, the other scouts fanned out a moment later to take up a decent bit of the area, pairs of two all around. Numerous armored soldiers, many sporting dented armor but luckily little in terms of actual wounds, also dotted the area.

Cain himself trekked up to stand amongst the group, taking his place next to Skye.

Better to be near the most valuable of the people there, the young girl, while he did share her power of closing Rifts, would be useful in taking on the Breach.

As the others had said, he was there to fight these creatures. He was not there to be the hero.

Not this time.

"Told you." Varric snickered and glanced to Cassandra. "Wanderer, or Giant, whichever you want to call him, he's too damn big to fall."

"Giants and Dragons have both been killed. The line goes that the bigger you are, the harder you fall. That applies to all things, including those greater than Wanderer here."

"Let's get going. We need to finish this, with luck the other Rifts will shut and we can lessen the number of civilian casualties." Cassandra turned and rushed to the large door of the Temple, leaving no room for discussion.

"Ah, I guess we should. May as well go and save the day." Varric quipped, and he, with Solas, the scouts, and the soldiers, trekked on ahead.

"It's good that you're safe, Cain. I wouldn't want to continue this without you, I'm not even sure we could." Skye said as the two of them stood alone.

"I'm assuming your way went well?" He inquired, his gaze on her through his helmet.

"There was a lot of...fighting. A decent number of the soldiers made it, but many more died. Solas and I saved who we could with magick, but it wasn't enough." She replied, her tone fading off at the end.

"You did what you could, understand that. Not everyone can be saved, and not everyone will be. The main thing you should focus on is closing that 'Breach', you'll be able to stop the deaths of many, many more people if you stop the spread of these Rifts." Cain knelt down to her height. "You can do this, the rest of us will cover you. You just shut the Breach." He squeezed her shoulder lightly before he straightened to his full height. "You're not alone."

"Thank you." She said after a moment, a small smile formed and then faded before she turned to walk into the Temple. "Let's get going...I guess."

"'Bout time you two caught up. What were you doing, getting in some last minute action?" Kylen snarked, having grouped together with the other three in their group.

Cain simply arched an eyebrow at the younger man as Skye sputtered.

"N-no. Just readying myself for what we may find here."

"Quiet, let's go." Cassandra ordered, apparently not in the mood for idle conversation.

The other simply nodded and followed as she took the lead, heading past the short entry hallway and into the actual Temple.

The first thing that Cain took note of was the absolute wreckage that littered the place, and then the large green base of the Breach that sat ominously in the midst of all the destruction, two stories down in a large crater. Then he noticed the bodies all around, more like ash kept solid in their original forms by some unknown force, erect in stances of terror and attempts at fleeing.

Whatever had happened, the people had had some warning beforehand. Atleast enough for an attempt at fleeing to be made.

Then, as the group made their way around the outside of the crater, heading down to what appeared to have been a walkway path, they spotted a glowing red crystal.

"Don't let that stuff touch you." Varric warned as he saw the crystalline structures. "Red Lyrium, likely dragged up from somewhere far below by whatever happened here. The stuff is toxic, even being near it isn't safe."

Suddenly, a voice began to speak, incomprehensible to him now as, suddenly, a piercing headache rampaged in time to a growing flare of pain in the center of his chest. The closer he was to this thing, the more pain he felt. And now, this unknown voice, caused such a great pain in his head that, if he were any weaker, he'd have fallen to his knees.

Then, as quickly as the voice came, it was gone.

"That was the Divine Justinia, wasn't it?" Varric asked after a brief moment.

"Yes, it was. Let's push ahead, we're almost there." Solas said after a moment.

Another moment passed and the group continued ahead, slowly at first and then at their previous pace. Once more did the voice start, though Cain still found himself unable to hear what was said over the migraine that assaulted him.

And then, they jumped down from the lowest ledge, into the crater and the voice came back, along with what looked to be a projected scene.

A woman found herself held aloft, her arms spread as though she were bound to a cross, and her captured stood before her, represented by a pair of ominous red eyes that floated in the air.

Then, through a door that burst opened suddenly, Skye herself burst out, with a shout.

The scene remained for a few scant moments, his migraine raging all the while, until it finally fell; as did he, to a knee, in relief to the migraine having left.

The pain in his chest flared painfully, almost as bad as it had when he'd closed the Rift in the mountains himself.

"You were there." Cassandra said another moment later, her tone accusatory as she turned on Skye.

"I-I don't remember. I can't remember!" She shouted defensively, her hands to her head. It seemed he hadn't been the only one to suffer the headache.

"She called out for you, for help. What happened? Who was that? Cassandra pressed, only to stop as Solas rose a hand.

Varric nodded slowly. "Yeah, let's just get this all sorted out then we can figure out the story of what happened here."

"Guys, the Giant's down." He heard Kylen say after a moment's pause.

Cain turned his head up to look at the group, only to find there eyes on him. He silently stood and then shook his head.

"Maybe it was in prayer or meditation for the what's to come?" Solas offered, his eyes trailing his own armored form. "Or maybe the Breach is effecting him, magick so great has a tendency to effect the world around it, as seen by the many Rifts that have been formed and continue to be created even now. And, you must remember, he did emerge from it as well. His tie to it may be strong."

Cain simply stepped ahead, leaving the group to converse. He had shown weakness, which he wasn't allowed to do in an area filled with unknowns.

The group was one that he allied with out of circumstance. Not one that he needed to survive, but one that he found himself with and knew that he could obtain information from if he remained with.

These people, he would not show weakness. Let them think what they wanted beyond that, but never weakness. He couldn't.

He wouldn't allow himself to.

He hadn't since his first encounter with the Enclave many years ago.

And he wouldn't start again now.

"The Breach was shut after you two came out, but it was done hastily and incorrectly. It's unstable, which is why so much destruction is occurring, and why Rifts still appear. We'll need to reopen it, and then have you shut it correctly." He faintly heard Solas speaking in the background, likely to Skye. "Everyone needs to be prepared, I have no doubt that opening the Breach will alert many spirits. We may have a fight on our hands, and need to be ready to handle whatever it throws our way. It's good that we have the soldiers and scouts, they may prove to be invaluable." The elder elf of the group continued on, his voice a droning in the background.

Cain's eyes wandered around the area. In several locations up on an elevated walkway, the scouts, Kylen included, had set up with their bows, seemingly ready to rain arrows down onto anything that came from the Breach once it was reopened. The soldiers that had come with the rest of the group had grouped together in sets of four before spreading out, seeking to have strength in numbers for whatever they found themselves fighting.

Not the best strategy, a strong line-formation would probably have been better for the soldiers, with utilization of shields to form a tight wall for the ranged scouts, as well as Varric, Solas, and Skye - the VIP.

Though, he'd already decided that his objective would be the protection of the girl, due in large part to her use as the person who could close the Breach itself.

Everything seemed so...bizarre. Magic, creatures that appeared from seemingly nowhere and apparently disintegrated upon death, rips and tears in the sky that allowed served as gateways to another dimension.

He'd have to try and figure things out as he stayed here.

The use of magic, actual magic like he'd been seeing unlike the sleight of hand he sometimes saw in New Vegas shows, could serve to be invaluable, if only he could find how to give others the ability.

These creatures would have to be stopped, for they would be a threat, even if just a small threat to his armored divisions, to his soldiers when they came to this place.

And, mainly, this thing in the sky that broke the rules of the world, this Breach, would have to be closed. The pain he felt was not one he wanted to continue to feel, it was a distraction. It stopped his usual level of focus and prevented his usually analytical mind from taking in everything around him as it nagged and prodded at the back of his consciousness.

"We're ready!" A shout came from one of the soldiers, and then was followed by Kylen shouting the same from his perch. The woman from before, at the base, Leliana, had appeared from somewhere and had produced a bow of her own to join the scouts.

"Then, let's get started." Cassandra ordered.

The two ranged fighters of the group readied themselves, and Cassandra took up residence infront of them, ready to attack anything that neared the other two; it seemed she knew the value of protecting the people who could attack from a distance. The trio had found a slightly elevated position, which placed them a good three or four feet higher than the rest. A good position for an archer, though not as good as the elevated positions the Scouts had found. It would allow the two ranged fighters the ability to attack anywhere on the battlefield, and Cassandra to have higher ground as she fought back any that went for the trio.

He'd have to relocate Skye to there once the action started, she'd likely be safer amongst those three than anywhere else.

Skye herself had inched up to stand beside him at the Breach, where she'd have to stand to reopen the tear in the world.

"To ending this." Skye said with a force light-heartedness, palpable nervousness in her voice even though she tried to hide it.

Cain simply nodded, and his legs crouched slightly. Nothing ever went this easy; when that Breach opened, something big was going to come out and he was going to be prepared.

* * *

Skye shuddered, her thoughts were a whirlwind of nervousness and worry.

None of this was supposed to happen.

She'd been sent as a member of the Dalish mages to report back what happened at the Conclave. Both to make sure that the clans of the Elves wouldn't be forgotten amongst the talks of peace between the Templars and the Apostates, and also to make note of those who had risen high amongst the humans since her clan had last made contact.

She, as a young elf, wasn't even all that capable in combat. She'd just received her markings hardly a year prior.

She wasn't supposed to save the world, she wasn't supposed to be paired together with a giant in the most horrific and unusual armor she had ever seen, and she wasn't supposed to be fighting alongside a Seeker, especially not Divine Justinia's Right Hand.

None of this was supposed to happen, and she was having an overload. An extended panic attack brought to a climax with every encounter with the Fade spirits, every death cry of the soldiers who fought to help her, every time she witnessed the giant destroy the numerous enemies that they came across without much in the way of help.

Skye took a deep breath, lost in her own mind as she glanced up at the giant and then the Breach.

'Calm down, breath. Come on, come on.' She thought, her hands tightened to fists and she shivered.

Not with the cold, but with pain as the Mark flared in her palm.

'I've closed three Rifts now, I can do this.'

She breathed deep once more, brought her hand hesitantly up, and shot an unsure smile to Cain.

"I've got your back." The armored man whispered to her.

She nodded and closed her eyes, and the Mark flared once more before everything stopped.

When Skye opened her eyes, everything revealed to be largely the same, though her vision appeared tinged with a shade of green that persisted no matter where she looked. Ahead, the large breach floated in the air, mounted on the same pedestal of green crystal as she had seen before.

Around her, the others were motionless, including the giant. Dull, almost shadowed by this place, were the others. All but Cain, who radiated a green electricity similar to her Mark, though he wasn't any different from the others beyond that.

This was the Fade, she knew this; though it appeared to simply be a pocket of the Fade centered around the Breach.

Intangible, ethereal, open to manipulation by someone capable. More capable than her.

A crack sounded as a line of green electricity erupted from the Breach and connected with the Mark on her hand, causing her to jump back at the suddenness.

 _'First, we need to open it.'_

The voice of Solas came to her, a memory, as she felt shooting pain coarse through her body. The Breach, being so close ached, so very much. But being connected to it hurt more.

"Open." She breathed, attempting the only thing she could. This was the Fade, and her Mark resonated with the Breach. She'd command it, she had to.

The Breach, for a moment, remained still, silent on the other end of the magick connection.

Then, at once, the tear between the veil that separated Fade and her world began to expand, to open according to her will, and she felt her stamina begin to drop steadily.

She fell to her knees after just a few moments, and the Breach halted its steady advance open, now a gaping wound in the veil between worlds.

A roar erupted, its source angry and clearly hostile. From her right, she saw it. A large creature, whom easily stood at easily double her own height and whose bodies rippled with muscle, she could see it coming, drawn by the reopening of the Breach. And with it, numerous other demons from the Fade followed.

An instance later, after she spotted the creature, the world regained its usual color and she fell to a knee. She felt weak, so incredibly weak.

"You opened it." Solas could be heard back behind her. Sure enough, whenever she took a look at the Breach, she could see that the Breach much larger than it had been before.

"G-get ready, they're coming." She managed to get out, finding difficulty even speak. Without warning, she found herself picked off the ground and carried back to the others swiftly by Cain. After she'd been let down, the armored giant went forward, closer to the Breach once more.

'He's the closest one to the Breach.' She noticed a moment later and attempted to rise to her feet. 'They'll swarm him.'

"Stay down, gather your strength. You'll need it to close the Breach." Solas advised, a gentle hand lowered to rest on her shoulder. "We'll guard you in the mean time."

Skye shook her head and attempted to rise to her feet again. "I saw them, there's too many coming. And it's not just the weak ones we fought earlier. A Pride Demon is coming too."

"Down." Cassandra ordered from where she stood. "Stay down and take a breath, we can't have you too winded to close the Breach."

Skye exhaled her arguments away and simply nodded, the Seeker was right. Her being in the thick of things was never an option, too much rest on her shoulders. She pushed herself back until her back pressed against the wall.

A roar came, seemingly from everywhere and no where at the same time, and it was answered by a number of screams, all impossible to have come from human, elf, dwarf, or even Qunari mouths. The cacophony was impossibly loud, and assaulted her ears, along with those of the others save for Cain - atleast from his lack of reaction.

"Archers! Prepare to fire!" Cassandra called out, straining her voice over the cries of the coming spirits of the Fade. "Soldiers, brace yourself for combat!"

Ahead of them all, nearest the Breach, Cain drew the massive greatsword from his back and drove the blade into the ground until the handle was level with his chest. Then he withdrew the bastard sword, he apparently used as a secondary weapon, with his right hand and spun his wrist - an action she had witnessed done by many of the Dalish swordsmen and the soldiers she had come to the Breach with to loosen their wrists with swords many times lighter. From there, he seemingly drew a large dagger she had not seen before and held it in the reverse style she recognized as an assassin's grip. No soldier would hold a blade that way, tip pointing down instead of up as he then assumed a ready stance then left him crouched several feet shorter than his usual height.

The cries stopped, seemingly at once, and everything stilled.

Skye inched back until her back pressed against the stone wall. They were coming, the air itself seemed to vibrate with the energy of the Fade.

Suddenly, the ground itself became awash with the green glow they'd grow to connect to the appearance of the Fade creatures. Ahead, Cain crouched amongst the sea of green.

She inched her way up the wall behind her, grasping at any handholds she could, until she found a vantage point

"Well, that ain't good." Varric quipped, and suddenly the floor beneath them all appeared to vanish, and the hordes of Fade creatures sprung as once from the ground.

Silence.

One heartbeat.

Two.

Three.

Numerous cries came from the direction of where Cain had vanished, engulfed in the sheer number of Fade beings, and suddenly several Shades and Terrors were flung into the sky. Some were bisected, others appeared to have been knocked back by the sheer force of the others colliding with them.

The forces that had gathered to close the Breach shouted their warcries and jumped into the fray; all around her, Skye could spot arches loosing arrows into the hordes, the soldiers that had accompanied her fought with sword and shield, and Solas sent bolt after bolt of lightning coursing through the hordes. Movements, cries of rage and pain, taunts from the humans and elves, and shrieks from the Fade creatures, it all sought to overwhelm her as she attempted to watch all that occurred before her.

This was all to protect HER, to aid HER in closing the Breach. Everyone that fell, and she had begun to witness a few of the soldiers fall, was because SHE needed to live and close the Breach.

The black armored forms of Cain, surrounded and isolated from any of the other fighters, appeared like a tornado of death, reaping through the hordes with both the bastard sword in his right hand and the large dagger in his left. Easily, almost a third of the Fade creatures that had appeared were focused on him and were on the way to being systematically cut down.

Suddenly, the armored giant stopped moving beside the immense greatsword, and the Shades, Terrors, and Wraiths appeared hesitant to move forward. Atleast, until a Greater Terror slunk past the circle that had formed, and begun to lumber forward - almost hesitant yet still predatory.

A flash of movement occurred, and suddenly Cain stood where the Terror had been a moment before, the immense greatsword having been plucked from the ground and the bastard sword where the larger sword had once stood. The Terror fell back, the greatsword impaled through its chest, until it fell completely and he withdrew his weapon.

It wasn't much longer after that the others fell back, those that attacked Cain as well as the others, and appeared to retreat, back into the portals they'd come from in the ground.

"Did we win?" An elf inquired from somewhere to her right; his voice was loud, inquisitive.

"No." Skye heard, surprised a moment later when she realized she'd been the one to speak. "The Pride Demon is coming."

A rumbling roar filled the air, staggering those not already prepared. Then, as one, a large, gaping portal appeared on the ground next to the Breach, accompanied by several smaller ones that dotted the area.

"Here they come, brace yourself!" Cassandra shouted, stepping forward a pace and bringing her sword to slap against the front of her shield once.

First, the smaller portals produced their spawn. Shades and wraiths, only a dozen at the most, whom then went straight for those nearest. Then, the Pride Demon began to rise. First, the creatures head that easily could be mistaken for a boulder if not for the scale, then the shoulders which easily spanned a horse's length in width alone, and then slowly the remainder of the creature appeared.

'Big.' The word fluttered through her mind as she stared at the colossal Pride Demon, whom easily dwarfed the Wanderer she and her group had begun to call a giant. Yet, the word didn't seem to give the creature justice.

Easily three of her tall and a third as wide with bulging muscle that pressed at the creature's skin from beneath; sharp plates jutted from the Demon's body, giving it a sharp, dangerous appearance while also providing the creature with a natural armor that, with the combination of large, ornate horns decorating the top of its head, gave the monster the appearance of an armored, barbarian Qunari. A light, crackling energy surrounded the creature and finished off its menacing appearance, a transparent line of green energy connected the creature to the Breach to power the shield.

"A natural barrier." Solas grumbled, just barely audible to her. "This won't be easy."

Cain lunged forward, gripped the handle of the large greatsword he'd left previously, and swiped at the large creature.

Suddenly, he rebound back from the creature, a shimmering glow encompassed the Pride Demon and something resembling a dark chuckle came from its direction.

"No effect." Varric grumbled. "Great."

The Pride Demon struck back in a heavy overhand strike, bringing back its left hand before slamming it down on Cain, whom held the greatsword up horizontally to avoid being crushed. The two pushed back against each other, the Demon attempting to crush the comparatively smaller armored man as Cain sought to push back the hulking mass of Fade-spawned muscle.

Once more, the Pride Demon reared back and brought both hands down this time, only to be blocked once more with what sounded to be a creaking cry from the steel blade.

Suddenly, the armored mass of Cain lunged back as the Pride Demon went for another swipe as began to dodge around the creature, rolling away from any strikes with implacable timing. Right before it struck, so that it could not readjust its aim and never too late. In retaliation, she could see the Wanderer striking back, but every impact simply bounced off the shield. The only thing he appeared to be doing was distract the large beast from the others that fought against the smaller Fade spirits.

Skye glanced from the Pride Demon to the Breach, along the path of green energy, and then pack.

"I need your help." She said aloud after a moment.

"What was that?" Cassandra asked as she cut down a particularly aggressive Shade that had passed by Varric's shots and Solas's magick.

"That barrier protecting the Pride Demon from the Wanderer, it's connected to the Breach. I don't think I can close it in one go, but if I close it a little..." She trailed off, unsure of her idea.

"Then the energy connecting the Demon to the Breach may be interrupted, thus allowing the Demon to be wounded." Solas finished for her, a tone of profound revelation colored his tone. It appeared that he himself had not thought of that avenue of approach.

"That's what I was thinking, I just need a little protection while I do it. Who knows how many more of the spirits might appear in retaliation." She continued, glad that Solas had followed her line of thought. It was there only chance, unless they could somehow otherwise destroy the barrier or interrupt the flow of energy.

"Soldiers! To me!" Cassandra called out, seemingly agreeing with the plan. Suddenly, all around the four, the soldiers had almost materialized with how fast they'd grouped up. "Protect the elf! We're closing this Maker-damned Breach!" She commanded and Skye hopped down from her post. "Archers! Prioritize Wraiths!"

As one the group began to move forward as she jogged uneasily ahead. The group had formed a circle around her, standing a good couple feet away yet still ready to defend.

It wasn't log until she stood before the Breach, rose her hand to face the tear in the Veil, and closed her eyes. The familiar tingling of the connection suddenly erupted through her body, coupled with the pain she felt every time she interacted with the Rifts, and visualized her slowly forcing the Breach smaller in the palm of her hand. It stopped after shrinking by a fourth, and a shot of pain erupted through her body as the connection broke.

Skye staggered back as her eyes flung open and fell upon the fight between the Pride Demon and Cain, and she smiled triumphantly as the barrier failed, a fact not missed by the armored man who then swung hard with his enormous Greatsword, digging the large weapon into the beast's right side.

The monster roared with pain and anger at the strike against itself, seemingly offended that it would be harmed by something so small, and then it swung its massive arm to try and swat the Wanderer away, only for it to be dodged and retaliated against by the small dagger that Cain wield slicing through the creature's forearm.

A dark blood oozed from the creature's newly acquired wounds and Cain managed to get one more glancing blow at its left leg before the energy connection reformed and created the barrier again.

All around them, more spirits had come to attack the group that surrounded her, attempting to get at the threat to the Breach.

"It worked!" Cassandra shouted, and the soldiers cheered even as they fought.

Hope. The feeling flooded through Skye as a wide smile appeared on her lips and she brought up her hand as her attention came to the Breach once more. She began to close her eyes, ready to try and close the Breach once more.

They may be being assaulted by the hordes of the Fade, but they could win this fight. As long as the others could keep the enemies away for a while longer then she could close the Breach and Cain could kill the towering Demon.

A loud crash came from the direction of the fight between the giant Pride Demon and the Wanderer which broke her concentration. The Wanderer lie against one of the walls, an indentation in the stonework gave her what had occurred. He'd been hit finally, and flung against the wall from the impact.

Skye began to step forward before Cassandra brought up a hand.

"Focus on the Breach." She said, and the young elf began to argue until she noticed Cain begin to stand once more and then lung into the fray against the Demon once more.

He was okay, alive at the very least and still able to fight.

She went back to the Breach, and closed her eyes.

Twice more, she repeated this. The Breach continued to shrink with each attempt, and she could see the large Pride Demon slowing as the wounds inflicted upon it sought to weaken it. Several of the soldiers around her had fallen, the hordes of spirits having begun to overwhelm them before the clash of the two titanic forces occasionally found itself in the midst of large groupings, which Skye believed Cain did purposely in order to thin out the hordes. The large Greatsword cleaved through the hordes and the massive Demon's movements equally dealt damage to the masses.

"One more time." She breathed, the pain had begun to get to her. The attempts at closing the Breach wore on her, her stance was unsteady, her vision had begun to blur, and her breaths had become forced and shallow.

She closed her eyes once more, and the visualization came easily. The Breach was small now, miniscule compared to what it had been previously, yet she struggled more now than she had before. The Pride Demon's connection sought to keep the Breach open, and it began to feel that the only way to close the Breach would be to end the link.

She felt herself stumble as he attempted to shift focus to the line that connected the Breach to the Pride Demon, the sounds of battle pushed back to the rear of her focus as she grabbed hold of the link.

"Break." Skye breathed, and she pulled sharply. The connection broke easily, as though it were eager to break, and she felt herself fall even as she felt herself weaken more.

Her eyes opened to the death rattles of the Pride Demon, the sight the welcomed her brought a weak smile to her face; with the death rattle, everything stilled and ever with her diming vision she found herself able to witness as Cain plunged the massive sword through the monstrous being's chest through the gaps between the legs of the soldiers. With a pull, the blade was withdrawn and the beast moved to collapse forward, the Wanderer moving to the side to dodge with falling corpse even as it began to break down before their eyes.

The armored helm of the Wanderer turned and, even with the steel and tinted glass that blocked any from seeing his face, she felt his eyes on her own.

A loud cry sounded, then a deep, bellowing roar that seemed to originate from the Breach itself.

Something else was coming, something big.

Cain cast the greatsword he wielded to the side and appeared to point his large dagger at the Breach itself. A green energy similar to her Mark and that of the Breach began to envelope him, starting from his chest and then moving to envelope his armored form.

And then, with that, Skye's vision went black.

* * *

Author's Note:

Alpha here, just checking in for a bit of a note at the end of this block of text.

I know it's been awhile, but I have very good reasons, I swear! I just need to think of what those reasons may be.

I aimed to make this chapter a bit longer than usual, hitting a couple hundred words above 10k before I stopped. So, yay. Quantity with, hopefully, quality. There were times I feel like I rushed, some of them being during this boss fight here that I blew up much larger than it was in the game itself but it feels better this way.

I mean, this is the, attempted, closing of the Breach. One would think it would be a bit harder than it is in the game because what's occurring is a rather huge event. You're closing the Breach, afterall. Yes, you do fail to fully close it. And, yes, it is the beginning of the game.

Both of those I know and realize.

But, still. I would want some huge gauntlet of fighting, hordes of enemies that can pose an actual threat, and the fight against the Pride Demon to be a challenge almost at the level of Dark Souls - okay, maybe Destiny, but still. A bit harder.

So, I tried to convey that. The number of allies is more, but so is the number of enemies. The Pride Demon is the size of a Super Mutant Behemoth. And the Inquisitor...isn't the one who does the last bit against the Breach?

While the fight isn't the most difficult for our heroine here, the scale of it is larger and, without the numerous allies and the Wanderer, the fight would be next to impossible.

The Inquisitor, at the moment, isn't a big, bad hero who can rush through hordes of the Fade creatures; for now, she's a girl. A Dalish mage who just had her coming of age ceremony and was given her marks a few can't days, weeks, or months before the events of the game. She'll be reliant on her companions for awhile, but she'll grow into her own.

This is just one of many fights that she'll have to go through and, as shown, she became able to think of how to beat the Pride Demon without any hints beyond the obvious connection of the Pride Demon and the Breach - whereas the player has game mechanics and button prompts that all but say how to do it.

I'm going to TRY to show the development of the Inquisitor into a Hero, but everyone starts somewhere. The Wanderer leaves the Vault as a kid at nineteen, unprepared and having heard nothing of the outside world; the Hunter of Bloodborne starts as a patient who awakens in a clinic in the midst of the largest Hunt in history with nothing but the clothes on his back; not all heroes start off a badass like the Master Chief, and I'm going to try and show that with the Inquisitor.

The Lone Wanderer has been a Hero for sometime by the time this story takes place, so he's as perfect a character as I can allow - imagine the leveling of FO4, but the character has gone through decades of conflict and adventure at this point - so that's my reasoning for him being able to hold off a blow from a Behemoth-sized enemy and even take a couple.

Ending this note, I realize this chapter may have been a mess at some parts, and if I ever go back, I may fix it. But, for now, here you go. Future chapters will be nowhere near as long, but will be scrutinized heavily for quality.

Look forward to a new chapter of OFH coming up as my next update.

Stay classy, Readers.


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